Details remain sketchy as Kent Police investigate a fight among numerous men Sunday near Meridian Middle School in Kent that left seven injured with non-life threatening injuries.
A Kent man who witnessed the fight contacted the Kent Reporter by email Tuesday and estimated as many as 60 men and a dozen or so cars showed up at the school parking lot. He said two groups showed up to fight and many of them were carrying bats and sticks.
Police have not made any arrests, according to an email Monday from Sgt. Jarod Kasner. Officers are trying to figure out what started the fight at about 2:26 p.m. in the school parking lot at 23400 120th Ave. S.E.
“There were a few witnesses as well as people involved that we have interviewed, however, there are some slight variations to their accounts,” Kasner said. “They did seem to be all adult males. Some were residents (of Kent) and some were from nearby locations.”
Kasner said the fight wasn’t gang related or a random act of violence. He said shots were reported as being fired, but officers did not have any reports that the shots struck anyone.
“I don’t have any definitive answers at this point,” he said.
Kasner said he did not know the extent of the injuries to the men other than the injuries were not life threatening.
The Kent man who saw the fight said the well-dressed men were Middle Eastern and ages 30 to older than 60. He said it appeared obvious they had agreed to meet at the school parking lot to fight as vehicles arrived at around the same time.
“Both groups went at a full charge, colliding into a swarm of swinging bats,” he said.
“I could see multiple people on the ground at this point, more than the seven reported. We did hear three sounds that could have been mistaken for gunfire, but it could also be cars hitting each other. People were still in their cars driving around like it was real life bumper cars. I saw with my own eyes people getting hit and falling to the ground. The whole thing took only a couple minutes.”
When the men heard sirens, most started to flee.
“This part was just as crazy as the fight, as cars were hitting each other and car bumpers were breaking off, and a SUV left with the back hatch open and had so many people in it a head rest flew out of the car,” the witness said. “I saw people picking up fallen members and putting them in the cars before they left as well as others trying to carry wounded men off into the wooded area on the other side of the football field.”
The witness said the neighborhood is generally quiet. He said he had never seen any fight similar to this.
“I have been describing the fight as old-fashioned Roman warfare,” he said. “This is one of the craziest things I have ever witnessed.”
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